Indonesian presidential candidate Anies plans renewables fund

Indonesian presidential candidate Anies Baswedan will set up an endowment fund using revenue from a planned carbon tax to finance the development of renewable energy if he wins the Feb. 14 elections.
Former Jakarta governor Anies is one of three candidates hoping to take over from President Joko Widodo, whose second and final term is due to end next year.
Wijayanto Samirin from Anies’ team said, Anies will levy a carbon tax on greenhouse gas emitted by polluting industries and place the revenue on what he will call the Resource Endowment Fund.
He said, with a 10 trillion rupiah ($645.6 million) seed capital from the state budget, the fund is expected to finance geothermal exploration and renewables research.
Jokowi, as the incumbent is popularly known, passed a law in 2021 to serve as a legal basis for his government to impose a carbon tax, but the levy has been delayed indefinitely to protect economic growth.